SuperSport 'owns' rugby

SuperSport has secured the broadcast rights for the entire season of the Super 12, whilst the SABC recently signed a one year agreement, which entitles them to broadcast the Super 12 Highlights, only after 21h00 on Tuesdays. The SABC is also allowed to screen one Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup game a week. But, McKenzie points out, "SuperSport retains the rights to broadcast these games simultaneously on DStv. Over and above this, by virtue of SuperSport's extensive live coverage, highlights channel and five additional channels to accommodate live overflow sports, they continue to offer added value to subscribers."

In essence, the SABC deal secures the national broadcaster a portion of the rugby coverage, in the form of delayed and select broadcasts. As regards the finals and tests, SuperSport will broadcast the games live, as they kick-off at 15h00, whilst the SABC will screen them at 17h00.

McKenzie also makes reference to outdoor viewing and that research indicates, 22 percent of viewers watch major sports events out-of-home, with the most popular sport being rugby. "About 5 500 of our DStv subscribers are pubs and clubs. Consider, that if 100 viewers watch a major event at each of these venues, that totals half-a-million viewers which are unaccounted for by TAMS," he says. "And interestingly, there is a high incidence of out-of-home viewing amongst both DStv and M-Net subscribers."

Meanwhile, SuperSport is continuing to cement its ownership of the market with several top-notch upcoming sports events to be screened live and exclusive. SuperSport Account Manager at Oracle, Fahmeeda Casim-Surtee elaborates, "From 27 May, 2002 sports enthusiasts will be able to watch the French Open, followed by the US Masters on 11 April and Wimbledon on 4 June. In addition, we will have extensive live coverage of the Tour de France and all the Tri-Nations games."

Numerous advertising opportunities are now available across the SuperSport channels, which number amongst the most in the world. SuperSport recently underwent a reshuffling procedure to make access to these channels simpler and group them according to content. In total, SuperSport provides coverage of over 100 different sporting events.

Oracle Airtime Sales will continue to package the various SuperSport offerings by event,
that will offer advertisers both reach and frequency over the period, thereby maximising their exposure in the marketplace.